


The One Where Sans Loves You

by ShouldntWouldntCouldnt



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Other, Post-Pacifist Route, papyrus has a restaurant, the reader is more like you than any other reader fic you've read, toriel is gone, various side characters - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2015-12-25
Packaged: 2018-05-08 21:55:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5514698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShouldntWouldntCouldnt/pseuds/ShouldntWouldntCouldnt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Help, you've fallen into the underworld and can't get up! Oh wait, somebody's carrying you. In fact, someone's giving you a coat, paying for your stay at the inn, and overall embarrassing you all the time with overprotection and chivalry. Every time you try to pay him back, you find your money back in your wallet somehow. There's gotta be some reason he's smothering you in gifts and kindness, right? It's probably the same reason you wish you could do the same for him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mount Ebott

You stared at the screen, reading a fanfic online. As your eyes scanned the words, you vaguely wondered if they were supposed to reflect your current situation. Indeed, they are. That’s right, I can see you. And I’m currently narrating your life. Ah, yes, that thing you just did? I saw it. Who am I supposed to represent? I am the narrator. I’m also in control of you at this very moment, because I’m the writer, too. Aha _yes_ , that thing you just did! You did it because I thought you _should_ have done it! Fascinating, to be under my control, isn’t it?  
Ah yes, I can hear your thoughts, too. You thought that my observations were incredibly vague and not at all specific to the thing you were actually doing, which by the way, is what you'd normally do. I know that, deep down, you really don’t believe that I’m having a conversation with you. Your belief is partially rooted in the fact that other people have read this same fanfic… but what you didn’t know is that they, too, have performed the very same actions as you have! That’s right! Because I told them to, in this same dialogue! But enough with introductions… you’re about to embark on the fanfic of a lifetime. You’re a little excited, aren’t you? Ha. Don’t bother answering that.  
I must offer a disclaimer, however. While reading this fanfic, you might find yourself imbued with sudden talents or desires you’ve never had before. If you’re not familiar with feelings of affection for a certain skeleton named Sans, you might not enjoy this fanfic as much as it was intended to be enjoyed. There is yet one decision you have, though… to keep reading. In fact, you may reread, skip and abandon reading altogether. This is the  only power you have. Without any further ado, let’s get started.

You felt like something dramatic was going to happen. After all, this was a new paragraph, preceded by the words “let’s get started”. By all means, this is where it should start. And it has! And, as usual whenever you read a reader’s perspective fanfic, nothing really changed. Well, nothing except something. You’re still staring at the screen, still scrolling gently, still breathing, still swallowing, still blinking. But that little something that changed is your imagination! Whenever you read these words ("You blinked, reading the words on screen"), you don’t view the events being described from your own eyes, but from another’s. And whose eyes are you viewing yourself through? Why, your imagination. That’s right– even though your eyes are only reading this fanfic, in your imagination, you can see another scene. Sort of like dreaming, but awake. Granted, at the moment that scene is the same exact scene your physical body is currently in, but that will soon change.  
  
Now, as you may have guessed, you’re not about to stand up and walk into the depths of Mount Ebott. You and I both know that it doesn't exist. You and I also both know that there’s no way in heck you’re gonna walk that much. If I told you to, you probably wouldn’t even stand up! Such a rebellious spirit! But worry not. I’m not going to fight THAT losing battle. Instead, I’m going to be controlling your imagination. And, thanks to you, that’s as simple as describing the scene!  
You stand up and stretch, looking down to see that you’re suddenly a baby. Ha! You see? You didn’t actually do that, but you saw it happen. I’m quite good at this, am I not? Now, don’t worry, you won't be a baby during this fanfic... that could get awkward. In fact, I’m going to strive to make you act as much as you normally would! Sometimes, for the sake of the story, you're going to act a little unlike yourself… after all, you’re all different, and to try and make one character represent all of you would be quite the task. Some of you have physical disabilities, or mental disorders, and all of you are wonderfully unique.  
But I’m going to take some liberties here. For now, the you in your imagination has a fully functioning body, two parents, distant family you can visit, a job with a boss, a car, and, regardless of your actual gender, every monster thinks you're a female... or at least, they call you "lady". You also don't know who Sans is, or any of the monsters, until you meet them. Finally, in case you _can't tell_ , your sexual preference includes male skeletons named Sans.  
Considering you chose to read this fanfic, that can’t be too far from the truth.

 

Everything in your world in the same. You have the same family, the same name, same home, same friends. Well… one thing is different.  
Recently the “immigrants”, as most people call them, have begun to live among people. They have the same rights as people, but they’re not quite the same. Some of them have fur, or scales, or are made of metal, or gelatin. A good majority of them don’t have mouths, or eyes, or even brains. And, if you were brutally honest, you’re fairly certain some of them are just animals pretending to be immigrants so they can have human rights. A small white dog? What makes it any different than the dogs already on the surface?  
You support their rights, of course, but not just anything can claim to be an immigrant... what's a gelatin going to do with human rights, anyway?  
Despite the controversy surrounding the issue, however, their presence hasn’t really changed your life personally. You’ve only heard about them on the internet, and regardless of how “involved” you feel by ranting about your opinions and keeping up with the news, you’ve never actually met any of them in real life. You really wish you could, because it all feels like fiction... like it should be from a video game or a cartoon (both of which you’re very fond of). You’re doing them a favor, though, by not adding to the endless fans smothering them.  
Even their ambassador, Frisk (a human child no less) has a huge following... and don’t even _start_ with their assistant, Papyrus. He’s a skeleton, so you’d think that as a literal decayed corpse, he's frighten the public. But no, he has the largest fan club of them all… you heard his new restaurant had a 2-year waiting list for reservations. You sighed at the thought, knowing that you’d never be able to afford a reservation there, much less wait for so long. You’ve considered trying to contact the immigrants on the internet, but you fear your tweets, emails, and asks are simply lost in the thousands of others they receive daily. You’ve even considered going to Mount Ebott and trying to go through the barrier (despite its government protection at the moment), but you don’t think there are any immigrants left down there. They were enamored with our bright, sunny world, and decided to stay above ground.

Still… the mountain was only a road trip away. Of all the discoveries made since the immigrants began to live on the surface, no one quite knows how Frisk made it to the underground. They didn’t enter through the barrier, because it was closed before they left the underground, so there must have been another way through… but not even Frisk remembers how they got there. You wonder if it was something magical and mysterious, such as a dragon scale you wish on with all your heart, or a wardrobe that only opens to the innocent and curious. No… the answer must be part of the mountain itself.  
Your heart starts to beat a little harder. You want to go to Mount Ebott and find out for yourself, but you can’t just pursue your dreams with wild abandon. A trip like that takes time, money, permission from your superiors, and maybe even a little legal admission… but then again, you have family around the area. If you told your boss and your teachers that you needed to visit them on emergency terms… yes. Yes, you think this could work. You won’t be gone for long, just long enough to find out if there was a way into the mountain. _This is definitely a good idea with no possible pitfalls._

You can’t believe you’re doing this. You stand up and go to your closet, pulling out clothes that you’ll need to do this. Just this once, you want to do something for yourself. Go somewhere for fun. You deserve that, right?…  
You prefer not to answer that question. You get a backpack and start putting in other things you’ll need, like a flashlight, deodorant, some hiking stuff. You think of putting your coat in there before realizing it won’t fit and putting it beside your backpack to carry separately. You stare at them, your heart now racing.  
This… this is dumb. Of all the things to be taking a few days off to do… a concert, or a new video game release, or a Comic Con… going to a mountain to look for a secret entrance? Suddenly you feel like danger is imminent... is this a good idea? You took a breath and tried to be reasonable. There were always families hiking up the mountain, and there weren’t wild animals because the mountain was part of a well-monitored national park. You wouldn’t be alone… if you screamed, there would certainly be people close enough to hear you. You wouldn’t be in danger, either, as long as you were careful. Alright… Alright. You’re doing this. _YOU’RE DOING THIS SO HELP ME OR THIS FIC IS GOING NOWHERE!_  You WILL be the one to discover the entrance to the underground! You WON’T do anything dangerous! And you’ll be PERFECTLY safe! Okay, maybe that’s a stretch, but it’s VERY UNLIKELY! You hope…

You start by telling your parents that you’re going to give a surprise visit to your family near Mount Ebott, and therefore they shouldn’t let anyone know you’re leaving. Naturally they’re suspicious and worried about your ability to travel so far all alone, so you assure them that everything is fine and that you wouldn’t go if it weren’t certain.  
You aren’t entirely sure if that’s true.  
Next you call your boss and tell them that you have a family emergency and need to go immediately– that you’re sorry for the short notice, and that you may need to unexpectedly stay longer than intended. They don’t act very suspicious, but you’re not sure they believe you, either. In any case, they’re willing to let you take a few days off without a fight.  
Finally, your teachers… you send them all a group email you hope sounds as concerned and scared as you’re supposed to be. You doubt you’ll get any sort of forgiveness from them, but you also don’t think a few days will hurt your grades too badly. You take a deep breath and sit down on your bed.  
That’s it, there’s no backing out now. As you lay down and start to fall asleep, you surf the internet as you usually do for more updates on the immigrants. The more you read, the happier you feel… and that night, you dream about meeting the greater dog at an airport, where he tackles you and licks you. At first you think he’s just affectionate, but then you see he’s wearing a security uniform, and tackled you because he thought you had a bomb. He barks for backup and the other guard dogs appear, all sniffing you and licking you as you laugh, insisting you don’t have a bomb. The dogs decide you’re safe, lick you one-by-one on the cheek for being good, and then you board a plane for the underground. Everyone is a Temmie. You look out the window and see a field of golden flowers. None of this makes sense. You feel as though reality has gotten too far from reality… no, wait… that’s not right. This isn’t reality at all…

Suddenly you open your eyes.  
Great. Another day, another shift. You roll out of bed, wondering why your alarm didn’t go off... you assume you woke up out of habit. Why is there a backpack on the floor by the door?

… that’s right.  
You’re not going to work. You’re going to Mount Ebott today. After a dream like that though, you think you’re ready. You smile at the thought of snuffling security dogs breathing onto your neck, and Temmies all talking at once in excitement as you fly through flower fields. Maybe the dream was a little weird, but everything was happy and fun. Certainly that’s what awaited you at Mount Ebott! You brush your teeth and perform your usual morning rituals, grab your backpack and coat, and jump in the car. No, wait… you go back in and go to the bathroom, and then grab a pillow and blanket to sleep in the car with. Okay, now you’re good. You’re also incredibly tired of this monotonous description of your every thought and action, and ready to jump into the underground. With that determination in mind, you set off on a really boring road trip that you spice up with some rockin’ tunes and rest stops where you treat yourself to junk food.  
Finally, you arrive at the park. They’re not open after sundown, and unfortunately the drive was too long to beat the sun, so you park in their lot and sleep again.  
That night you dreamed that Papyrus was a member of the Beatles... the band was so old, that all its members were skeletons now… the Beatles had died, their skeletons bleached and made into dreamy boy band members again. What Papyrus didn’t know, though, was that only immigrant skeletons could walk and talk… the Beatles, on the other hand, were animatronics.  
With that scary thought, you sat up quickly. It was finally time to go look for the secret entrance to the underground!

You got out of your car and donned your coat and backpack, and then walked to the entrance of the park. You nodded your chin at the ranger standing post, and then smiled as you looked up at Mount Ebott. It was beautiful. It was large. It was… tall. It was… kinda far away. Oh boy.  
The sun beating down, you began to wonder if the coat was a good idea after all. You looked around at all of the families, joggers, and dogs around the area. They all seemed to be at home, as though this was as a city park, not a national one. You felt self-conscious, all geared up and ready to hike. You figured you’d be more embarrassed, however, to go back to your car and put back your coat and other items only to return again. They’d all recognize you… _they’d know what you did._  Plus, you’re pretty sure mountains get colder the higher you get, right? Whatever.

You start walking towards the mountain, waiting until you’re out of sight from other people to start looking around for a secret entrance. So far, just leaves and grass… You decide it probably wouldn’t be on the ground under some leaves, anyway. Otherwise a lot of people would have fallen into it, right? So you begin to look in more peculiar places, like cliff faces and, one time, a tree that was unusually wide. Every time someone walks by you try to play it cool, but they probably wondered why you were kneeling underneath a bush. You aren’t making any progress, or finding any clues, and you being to feel like this entire idea was too silly. A secret entrance? Only conspiracy theorists and madmen do this sort of thing... Plus you were already getting tired, and you had no other plans for the day should you stop looking for the underground. It didn’t help that you were standing in the hot sun, and hadn’t had anything to drink yet. You wanted to sit on the ground and remove your backpack and coat, but you were standing in dirt and mud. You looked uphill for a cleaner, drier place to rest, and saw a small shaded, rocky area.

As you approached it, you saw it held a small cave, but you were too afraid to enter. You took off your backpack and coat, then unzipped your backpack to extract a water bottle for a drink. As you looked down from your perch, you saw families having fun and laughing, lone hikers bravely trudging uphill, and a bird doing an unusual mating dance. This place was a lovely vacation spot, even if you didn’t find anything. You thought you might lay down for a bit, so you leaned over and looked for any bugs or dirt you needed to clear away first. Instead, you saw…  
Vines? Vines with… little yellow flowers. Just like the ones from your dream. Suddenly your heart was racing. Could this be it? Were your dreams somehow prophetic?! You grabbed your phone and began recording, using your flashlight to show you the inside of the cave. The vines seemed to go in a certain direction, getting thicker and thicker until the entire ground was covered in them. The ceiling of the cave was becoming too short to stand, and suddenly as you shone your light up to see how much farther the cave went, you saw the back wall of the cave. This couldn’t be it, then. It was too small… but what was that?  
You saw a sort of rune on the wall… it looked like a triforce with a golden snitch flying over it. Probably just some dumb kids-- well, okay, _cool_ kids-- leaving their mark. You figured you may as well get something neat in your video, and shine your flashlight directly onto it. You have to kneel to get close enough, and as you crawl on your hands and knees towards the back wall, suddenly the vines beneath you feel unsupported. You look down nervously, but before you can backtrack, they’ve parted like a curtain and you’re falling.

You scream as your voice hitches on your quickly tightening throat, your flashlight illuminating not a narrow tunnel, but a large cavern that widens the deeper you fall. Before you get to decide your last words, you’re looking up the the hole you fell through, light pouring into the pitch black you’re now surrounded by, and you’re not falling anymore. You’re not hearing anymore, either. Or breathing. After half a minute, you gasp. You don’t have a clarity of mind to wonder why you’re alive… for that matter, your only thoughts are that you need to breathe, that you’re in danger, and that you’re quickly blacking out. The ringing in your ears slowly makes way for other muffled noises… a low sort of of sound, a rhythmic stamping getting louder, like… like a song. Everything's blurry and alternating between clarity and darkness. Suddenly the song stops as everything becomes white and your feel yourself ascending, weightless and… painful.  
You’re gone.


	2. The Remnant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to wake up.

You had another strange dream. At least, you think it was a dream…

There was a light. A light surrounded by shards of rock, and columns. Then the moon came rolling in and eclipsed the light, white and glowing softly. Its craters were unusual… The man in the moon, you thought… the man in the moon has eclipsed the sun. The moon lifted you with its gravitational pull. Suddenly you were surrounded by fur and fluff, and the moon came closer to your face. You saw the man more clearly now… you don’t remember the moon having a blue star within its crater.  
Was the man… crying? No, moons can’t cry. It must be raining. Or… melting. Suddenly pain shot through your body, and you cried out. Everything became a blur… purple and gray, white and green, then total darkness.

You woke up several times. Each time you opened your eyes, they were met with pitch black. You heard strange noises, felt pain in waves throughout your body. You also felt warmth and softness beneath you, concluding it was safest to sleep again, if you could. With each new wakening you felt better... as though the pain were just a fading dream. Finally you woke up for the last time this morning, and the noises were gone. You could see your surroundings now, and could tell that you were in a small yet cozy room, decorated in warm colors and hearts. You tried to make sense of it all… you had gone to Mount Ebott, and sat in a cave… maybe you fell asleep, and some kind family took you to their house? No, they would have woken you up… maybe you were dehydrated and passed out! Maybe some ranger had to drive you to the hospital! But… no, you aren’t in a hospital. Something bad must have happened if you can’t remember how you got here, but you feel fine. At least, you think you feel fine.  
You throw off the covers and examine your body, looking for scratches or bloodstains. All you’re met with is grass stains and dirt. But then, your dream last night… you can’t remember all of it, but you remember the pain. The overwhelming pain and… a face. Something fuzzy. Flying. You look around for hints and see your phone laying on a desk beside you. But where’s your backpack, or your coat? No, you still have your coat. You’re wearing it–  
…  
You stare at your arm. Your coat isn’t dark blue and soft. You look at your shoulder and see the inner lining, a light grey faux fur. The coat seems to be too big for you, but at second glance, it’s just really fluffy. You cautiously sniff the shoulder and it smells like wet clothes, as you suspected. It also smells faintly of cologne and smoke. Not cigarette smoke, but bonfire smoke.. meat and wood. You assume this coat belongs to a man, most likely a camper or a ranger. Before you get carried away with a young, manly hero lending you his coat, you remind yourself it could just as easily be a woman, or someone elderly… which brings you back to your mission of trying to find out where you are and what happened.  
You grab your phone off the desk and unlock it. No new messages… seems as though your family hasn’t been contacted yet. No, wait. There isn’t a signal here. No internet, either. You go through your texts, but nothing has been sent or received. You go through your pictures… nothing there, either. Finally, you go to your videos. There’s one you don’t recognize. You open it.

You see the last thing you can remember: the cave. You see the ground, covered in vines. You’re not sure, but weren’t there flowers there before? No… your memories must be a little mixed up. The flowers were from a dream you had. The vines get thicker until they make a mat, and the flashlight identifies a small, blurry carving on the cave’s back wall. As the camera gets closer to it, it looks more and more like Navi from Zelda… wait, what? Suddenly it looks like the camera was dropped, and everything goes dark. You hear your own voice screaming, and a loud thud.  
Were you… attacked? The video shows it still has another minute left. Everything is black and silent. After a while, you hear a gasp and fast, ragged breathing. The breathing gets slower… softer… suddenly you hear a low voice saying “oh no,” its owner running to the phone. The phone is lifted and you see your arm, sprawled out a stone floor. Then the video ends. You think about the events of the video and watch it a few more times. You have a few theories running through your mind…  
First is that you were mugged, which would explain the phone falling and your screams. The thud must have been your own body falling to the ground, since you were later sprawled out on the stone, and the “oh no” must have been from the criminal once he realized your phone recorded the incident, and then he stopped the video. But then why wasn’t it deleted, why wasn’t your phone stolen, and why are you safe in a bed? If you were thrown to the ground, why don’t you have bruises and cuts?  
So you go onto your next theory. You saw something like a spider and screamed, dropping your phone. The thud must have been you squashing the spider, the gasp you finding it to still be alive, and then the “oh no” coming from a concerned passerby seeing your phone on the ground, wherever it fell. But then… why was your arm sprawled out on the ground? And why can’t you remember this incident? If it was just a spider, you should have been fine.  
Your final theory is that you fell down a trap hole, the screaming coming from the fall and the thud being you hitting the ground. The gasp must have been because your breath was knocked out of you. But then… how could someone make their way down the hole so quickly to save you? It would have taken anyone who heard your scream a few minutes to arrive, and much longer to lower themselves safely into the hole you fell in. And of course, if you fell, where are your bruises and cuts? Surely you haven’t been out of it so long that you’ve already healed… no, you couldn’t have. You look at your phone again to see what time it is and on what day... okay, good. It’s only been a day.

You decide that this mystery can’t be solved with reason, and you pull off the covers to sit on the side of your bed. So much for a safe trip to Mount Ebott, huh? You can’t even go one day without waking up somewhere strange with no memory of the past 12 or so hours. At least the room appears safe… surely you aren’t in a hospital or a crack house, and haven’t been abducted. After all, they only have scary, dark rooms... _right?_ You look for a window to see if you’re still near Mount Ebott, but there are no windows… you check your phone for a location, but it can’t locate you. Your breathing starts to quicken pace... you think of opening the door, but you’re scared of what you’ll see when you do. You think of the noises you heard last night… the pitch black. How are the lights on now if they were off last night?  
You feel a panic attack starting. You have no weapons, you can’t call the police… you slowly draw your knees up to you chest and wrap your arms around them. Your palms feel sweaty. Your eyes dart around the room, and land on a book on the desk. You shakily reach out for it and open it to the first page. There’s a pencil inside, and the words “Enjoy your stay at the Snowed Inn!” with a little heart at the end. So... you’re at an Inn? The name doesn't sound familiar, but then, you aren’t familiar with the Inns around Mount Ebott. You take the pencil and go to the next page, but it’s blank. You take it in your hands and flip through it to find that the entire book is blank. Is it… for you to use? It doesn’t look terribly expensive, anyway. Your heart is still racing, and sketching calms you down, so you sit up against the wall on your bed and flip to the first blank page. You twiddle the pencil a bit before sketching a plane flying through a field of flowers. Even though you made the windows a bit small, you try and draw a happy Temmie inside each one, smiling a bit a the forced appearance of it all. They kind of ruin the dreamy mood of the picture, but you like it anyway. You go to the next page and draw a troupe of skeletons wearing suits, one of them being Papyrus, and a dramatic sign reading: The Beatles Reunite! You laugh at the thought of this silly sketch being a legitimate advertisement. You flip the page again… the man in the moon. One blue star in his left eye.  
As you sketch his side smile, yours disappears. You remember being lifted by gravity and wrapped in something warm and fuzzy. Was that _something_ the coat you’re now wearing? That dream couldn’t have been real. It was too surreal. Yet as you look at the face you’ve drawn, it seems less and less like a dream, and more like a memory…

You close the book and look at your feet for a minute. You smell the coat again… snow, smoke, and cologne. It fills you with warmth. You hear the “oh no” from the video again, low and fearful. And the man in the moon… you begin to wonder if his face was more than just incidental craters. You sit and think about your mysterious coat donor for too long before your realize your ears are hot and your cheeks are burning. That’s it. You’re leaving this room and getting out of here before something dangerous happens. Ah, that is… something you don’t really think should happen. You guess. You stand up and put your phone in your pocket, grabbing the book and pencil, too. You figure you should ask the innkeeper if you’re allowed to keep it… and you also don’t want to risk anyone finding it while you’re gone. You take a deep breath and put your hand on the handle. You’re about to find out what happened, you suppose. You open the door slowly, to see that you’re in a hallway containing only your door, another door, and a staircase going downstairs. You shut the door behind you a little too loudly, and someone calls up the stairs.

“Ah, you’re awake! I was wondering if you’d be okay. How are you feeling?” You stop with your hand still on the handle. It’s now or never, you suppose.

“I’m feeling fine, thank you. Could you tell me where I am?” You reply, trying to keep your voice level and pleasant.

“Of course. You’re at the Snowed Inn, the only place to stay until you reach the MTT Resort, which is all the way in Hotland.” The innkeeper replies. Nothing she says really makes sense. You suppose “Hotland” is a hot springs of sorts around the area.

“I’m sorry, I’m… not really familiar with the area. Am I around Mount Ebott still? I can’t get a signal on my phone, so I couldn’t tell…” There’s no reply. It’s silent for a few moments before you hear a quiet “oh dear…”.

“Excuse me, dear, I can’t hear you from here. Would you mind coming down the stairs?” She says. You hope she’s just concerned about your memory loss, and not your distance from Mount Ebott. Regardless, you descend the stairs. You look out the front door’s window and see snow… this didn’t bode with you well, considering there wasn’t snow near Mount Ebott yesterday.

“Over here, dear.” The innkeeper says from your left. Ah– she’s… an immigrant. Of course... most of them stayed local on the surface. You try to hide your surprise and excitement. If only you could tell her how you fight for her rights online! But somehow that seems in bad taste.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but I don’t remember the events of last night. I only have confusing memories and a video on my phone that doesn’t make much sense… the last thing I remember was sitting down to rest a moment at Mount Ebott. Now I’m here, and my backpack’s gone, and my money’s gone, and my coat’s gone, and–” You suddenly pause, looking at your new coat. “My… er, my old coat’s gone… and… ah…” You clear your throat. The innkeeper smiles.

“Don’t worry about it, dear. My sister owns the shop next door, and she’d be happy to accommodate you. And don’t worry about the money, either… someone’s paid for your stay.” She tilts her head a bit at those last words, then nods towards your coat. You blush and take off the coat, laying it on the counter. “No, dear. You’ll be needing that. It’s a bit cold down here.” You slowly take it back, but instead of putting it on, you just hold it in front of you, staring at it… wondering where it came from.

“Ma’am, I don’t mean to bother you, but… do you know what happened to me last night? How I got here? Who gave this to me?” You don’t make eye contact with her, instead playing with the coat a bit and shuffling your feet.

“I’m afraid not. We were very rushed to get you into bed safely, and I didn’t quite hear your story. Your patron is new to town, so I don’t know him well, either.” Ah, so it was a he. “It was most peculiar, though, the way he carried you in.” You look up, silently urging for her to continue.  
“Well, he wasn’t exactly carrying you. He was… sort of levitating you. And usually he’s so composed! When he brought you in, however, he was sweating like a seahorse.”

What she just said made no sense to you. Well, yeah, the seahorse part sure, but… levitating? What was this guy, a magician? She could see the confusion on your face and sighed.

“You’re not near Mount Ebott anymore.” Your heart skipped a beat. You felt like you were about to hear something inevitable from the very beginning of this fanfic.  
“You’re _in_ Mount Ebott.”  
WHOOP, THERE IT IS. You keep your cool for about half a second before laughing in success, muttering “I did it! I actually did it!”, pacing the room and probably scaring the innkeeper a little bit.

“Don’t worry, dear! Once you’re ready to go, you can return to the surface. The barrier’s been opened, after all! It’s a bit of travel, but there aren’t many monsters down here anymore, so I’m sure you’ll make it in no time.” You stop and look at her again. She has a large smile on her face, but you can also tell she’s still scared after your outburst, unsure whether or not it was a positive one.

“Thank you, ma’am, but I… I think I’ll stay here for a while.” You give her a little smile and pat the coat in your arms, trying to assure her that everything is okay.

“Oh! Of course. That’s what I’m here for, after all!” She says, her smile returning to all sincerity... but her words remind you of something you have yet to ask.

“If I may ask, ma’am… why are you still here? I thought all the immigrants– ah… p-people from the underground decided to live above ground.” You chastise yourself for calling her an immigrant, but she didn’t seem to notice.

“Oh, yes. As you probably know, life for monsters–” Ah, so that’s what she calls them– “On the surface has been very… busy, to make light of the situation. I didn’t want my children to grow up being smothered by fame, and I myself am not particularly fond of the idea. I’ve always been nothing more than a humble innkeeper, and I don’t intend on changing my occupation just for a little sun. We have such a nice life here. And who will take care of travelers if no one’s running the inn? Yes, for now you’re the first person I’ve had stay at the inn since the barrier opened… but I imagine that soon business will be back in full swing, should they ever allow humans to enter the underground.” She smiles and pets her child on the head. “At least, I hope so.” She adds, looking a little apologetic.

You nod. “You and me both, ma’am.” She laughs and waves at you as you leave, slipping on the coat. Now what? You think that you should have asked her more about the man who carried you to the inn, seeing as he knows what happened to you. You look left and right, unsure which direction you even came from, and you begin to feel a little nervous again... this was it, you guess. You finally made it to the underground, and you finally get to meet immigrants. You were about to get an insider’s look at the culture and history of immi– er, monsters– and maybe even find out what happened when the barrier broke! The thought of it all excites you, images of grandeur running through your mind. You look around the town, trying to find the first monster you’d make friends with, but you’re met with… not much. You remember that most monsters decided to live on the surface and you calm down… the innkeeper said her sister was next door, right? You walk over, smiling. You suppose you need a few supplies, anyway. You open the door to the shop as the bell jingles, and you’re confronted with a very stylish bunny.

“Hello, traveler. How can I– oh! You must be the human my sister told me about! Don’t worry yourself, everything’s free.” You look at her wares… odd accessories, popsicles, and cinnamon rolls. You’re… not sure any of this can help you, so you strike up a conversation instead. You ask her where you are, for starters. “That’s right, you lost your memory, huh? This here’s Snowdin. The name kinda says it all… it’s always snowy here. It’s also always Christmas, I guess… we never take down the tree or lights, anyway. There are only three other places to go in the underground: the Ruins, Waterfall, and Hotland. Their names are self-explanatory too, I suppose. Hotland is the capital of the underground, and a lot fancier than this little town… there are even conveyor belts and elevators to take you around. Waterfall is where a lot of folks live, because it’s not too hot or too cold. It also carries our history on its walls. And finally, the Ruins… they’ve been locked up for ages, but recently the doors have opened. I suppose it has to do with the barrier opening. I’ve never been there personally, but for the first time in a long time, I could if I wanted to. That’s about it for the underworld. It’s a pretty small place, but there’s no shortage of things to do. Well, at least, there wasn’t. It’s a little barren these days.” She looked to the side, looking a little sad. You clear your throat a little.

”I wish I could have seen this place when all the monsters were living here.” You say quietly. She looks at you and purses her lips.

”It wasn’t as glorious as it seems, lady. We were overpopulated and crowded. Some of the monsters had cracked under the pressure and become aggressive, leaving civilized life to ambush wanderers outside housing areas. To make matters worse, before the barrier was opened, we needed to kill a human and steal its soul… some of us felt reluctant about it, but others eagerly took up the task and joined the Royal Guard. It’s a miracle that kid survived and made it to the surface again… a lot of monsters were after their soul.” She crosses her arms and looks down at you, daring you to wish you could have been there.

You clear your throat again. “I’m sorry. What I mean, is… I wish not as many monsters left for the surface. I thought being in the underground meant getting to meet monsters and experience their culture and history, but… it feels sort of lonely around here.” You look at the ground, rubbing your arm. The shopkeeper sighs, and when you look up you notice her arms are no longer crossed, but folded around each other as though she were cold. She’s looking towards her sister’s inn. You watch her for a few moments before she looks back to you and lowers her arms to her sides. “I’m not going to leave, though.” You finally say. She smiles a little, and you go on. “I mean… I have to, eventually, but I still think the underground is worth visiting. Even if it’s just you and your sister and her children here, I’m grateful to have met all of you. I’ve wondered about this world for so long… and every moment answers another question I’ve kept inside since the barrier opened. I’m gonna stay for a while, and meet as many monsters as I can. Learn as much as I can.”

The shopkeeper smiled. “I think you like these monsters more than I ever did, lady. It’s good to know. I’ll help you get started, I suppose… on meeting as many monsters as you can, that is. Let’s see… well, all the monsters who worked in transportation are still around. The River Person, the Duck that carries travelers over a gap, the Blob who carries travelers from deck to deck… I think that’s it. Onion-san is still here, because he doesn’t know how to leave, and Napstablook is still here… honestly, though I think it’s because he didn’t get the memo that everyone left to live above ground. Grillby’s still here– his restaurant’s just next door– and a few of his regulars. That Nice Cream guy’s still around sometimes, too, but he comes and goes as he pleases. Pyrope’s still here for the heat, and Tsundreplane’s still here, muttering something about not living on the surface with “that human”. Am I forgetting anyone?”  
She looks at you, then to your shoulder, and smiles. “That’s right. A while back a couple of skeletons just showed up and asserted themselves. One of them was a member of the Royal Guard, I think, but he’s gone now. The other one’s a sort of wandering merchant like the Nice Cream guy, selling hot dogs and telescopes and such. What’s funny is that he’s been to the surface– heck, he was one of the first to see it– but he walked right back to the underground. Can’t say I know why, but I’ve never really been able to understand the guy anyway. Maybe _you_ do, though... It just so happens that you’re wearing his coat.” You look down at yourself to confirm what she said, and feel the blood rushing to you face. Great… you try to think of an excuse to give her, but she just starts laughing. “Sorry lady, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. You probably don’t even know the guy, just like you didn’t know me or my sister when you woke up. In any case, it was nice to meet you. I hope to see you around here again some time! You’ll never know when you need a Cinnamon Bun or a chat.” She smiles at you and you try to regain your cool. You muster a smile and ask her another question:

“What’s your name?” You say, wiping the sweat off your hands onto your pants. She looks a little shocked, but then smiles.

“Ginger.” She replies, gesturing to a gingerbread house behind her. You laugh weakly. “Say, you want to remember your little visit here, right?” She asks. You nod. “Then I suppose we should take a picture. I hear they last longer.” She beams at you and you smile too, taking out your phone and snapping a picture of the two of you cheek-to-cheek. Then you wave to Ginger as you leave, her door bell jingling again, as she yells out a “See ya soon!”


	3. Whoopee Cushions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the man in the moon shows up. The tension is real you guys.

You take a breath of cold, fresh air. You feel much more at ease, knowing where you are and who’s here… granted, you didn’t personally know any of the monsters Ginger mentioned, but you knew it was a small list of monsters who seemed nice. She said one of them was just next door, right? Something along the lines of… Gilly? Grubby? You look to your right and see a bridge stretching across a chasm… not there. You look left and see the inn, an igloo, a house, a Christmas tree, and a brick building where a brown bear in an orange jacket is leaning, eyes closed. As you get closer, you notice that the sign on top says “Grillby’s”. Ah, so that was the name. You try to tread lightly, thinking the bear’s asleep, but he shocks you by speaking up.  
“The barrier opens, everyone leaves, and we’re no longer considered a nation. Thaaaaaaat’s politics!” His observation doesn’t really leave you with anything to say, so you just nod and he seems contented. You’re standing in front of the door, golden light pouring out the windows beside you… they’re too foggy to see through, but you can tell the light inside is moving. Warmth and the smell of food comes from the building, so you pull the door open and walk inside.

  
Now _these_  are monsters. You see a living flame behind the counter wearing glasses and a suit, cleaning cups… he reminds you of Flame Princess, and you wonder if he’s nearly as destructive. You suppose if he were, his restaurant would be up in flames and that rag in his hand would be burned… then you realize you’re staring, and feel a little embarrassed. But to be honest, you're not sure if he was looking at you or not. In front of the counter there’s a fish in a tank top, a duck in a dress, as well as a drunk bunny, a guy in a sweatsuit, and a dog with a red bone in his mouth. Everyone’s looking at you… well, except for the dog. You take a step forward and his eyes dart to you, so you stop. He looks around again. You sigh a little nervously, and go up to the bar to sit. Wait, wh--  
Everyone’s laughing. You can feel your face and neck getting hotter than the bartender as you stand up again, picking up the whoopee cushion you just sat on and laying it on the counter. You sit down again, physically able to feel the heat radiating off your ears. You look to your left at the fish and duck, still wiping away their tears, and when you look back to the whoopie cushion you notice someone else is sitting to your right. You hear a low “heh heh heh”, just like the voice from your video, and whip your head to look at him.

The man in the moon is smiling at you.

“sorry lady, some weirdo leaves whoopee cushions in the chairs around here. nobody’s fallen for it in a while, so we all get a kick out of it when someone new comes around.” He looks left at nothing in particular. “it used to be my job to welcome all humans to the underground, but we didn’t think any more were coming. gotta keep my promise though, y’know?” You _don’t_ know, but his eyes look a little sad, so you don’t ask. It’s quiet for a moment. Then he looks back to you, happy again. “say, that’s a nice jacket ya’ got.”  
You look down, and back up to him, horrified. You quickly start to take it off to give to him. “hey, keep it. i got a million of them.” You notice that he is, indeed, wearing a duplicate of the coat. Great... you match. “that reminds me.”  
Suddenly the lights shut off in the bar and there’s a spotlight on the two of you. If you were looking around, you’d see that time stopped, but your eyes are transfixed on the man in the moon. He leans around to grab something behind him… no way.  
He’s holding your backpack and coat, the latter of which folded nicely, smiling at you in expectation. “these are yours. you left them at the door, so i thought i’d go get them for you. after all, who wants to wear my dirty coat all day?” His eyes are squinted like he found something amusing, but you just sit there quietly. _You’d_ want to… but you don’t say so. Instead you stare at the items he got for you in awe. So this is the guy who carried you to the inn? He doesn’t have a blue star in his eye, but two white little lights, flickering and softly lighting his face… casting faint shadows underneath his cheekbones.

“you, uh… don’t say much, do you?” You snap out of it, the spotlight leaving the two of you and the restaurant back in motion. You look down at your stuff again, and take it.  
“Sorry, I just… I was just thinking. Thank you for getting these.” You open your backpack and pull out your wallet. “And thank you for paying for my stay at the inn last night. For taking me there, too... I don’t really know what happened last night, but I probably wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for you.” You hand him thirty dollars, hoping that covers the cost of the inn since you never found out their rate. He scratches the back of his head.  
“gee lady, don’t sweat it. i can’t take your money. heh… it only made _ cents _ to help you out.” He grins, waiting for you to get the joke, a drum-and-cymbal playing somewhere… but since you can’t read his words, only hear them, it sounds like he said “it only made sense”. He starts to sweat, then clears his throat. “hey, i know a good use for this money. wouldya like anything?” He gestures to the menu. It has two choices… burgers or fries.  
“Both, I guess.” You expect him to say something, but he just looks at you, blinking. You start to shift uncomfortably, looking at the menu again. “Uh… just the burger?” He chuckles.  
“that sounds great. for some reason, i usually only get one or the other.” He swivels in his chair to face Grillby, who looks up. “grillby, we’ll have a double order of fries and burgers.” He turns back to face you, smiling. You start to think his mouth doesn’t do anything else… doesn’t even open when he speaks. You know he’s a skeleton and all, but if his eyes can move, why not his mouth? And come to think of it, how’s he going to eat the food he ordered? Skeletons don’t have stomachs. You suppose they don’t talk or have glowing eyes, either, but you can’t help but wonder… and while you’re wondering… why is he wearing such warm clothes? Skeletons don’t get cold, right? Hmm… you think about that one for a while. They probably get hot, you think. After all, he’s sweating right now. He’s… sweating. And still looking at you. No, he’s… uh… looking away, now.  
… Have you been staring? Has… _he_ been staring?

Your neck and ears heat up again. Neither of you say anything, and you look at your hands. Oh, thank goodness. Grillby is back. Unfortunately, though, he doesn’t break the silence. “here’s the good stuff. you want some ketchup with that?” You look at the bottle of ketchup. For some reason, you feel apprehensive as you carefully it up and tilt it. Nothing happens, so you tilt it a little more... you don’t dare risk tilting it any further, so you just stare it down, waiting for the ketchup to fall. Suddenly you hear a low chuckle that sends a chill up your spine, and you accidentally spill the entire bottle on your meal. “whoops. didn’t mean to spook ya. here, forgeddaboudit.” He slides you his own meal. You stare at it a moment before realizing what’s happening.  
“No way! That’s your money, and your meal. I have enough for another one, look…” You start going through your wallet again, but he just laughs.  
“actually, that’s your money, lady. wasn’t gonna tell ya, but dollar bills don’t work down here. we use gold.” You wonder, then, where the money you gave him went? You look in your wallet… it’s back inside. You feel yourself blushing again, so you turn your attention to your meal. It smells delicious, and you haven’t eaten since… wow. Since you were on the road two days ago. You take a bite of the burger, and it tastes delicious, too… but when you start to chew, the whole thing disappears. You immediately feel fuller, healthier, and more energized. You’re also really confused.

“that’s right. monster food is different than human food. it’s pure energy. still tastes good, but you don’t get to enjoy it as long. you also don’t have to deal with the after effects, heh heh.” You smile. So that’s how skeletons eat. “hey, if you want some food with a little more substance, I make a pretty good butterscotch-cinnamon pie. I also make quiches and hot dogs, but those are monster food.” You realize that he’s offering to make something just for you, and look at your hands again, smiling.  
“That would be wonderful.” You finally say.  
“great, because you’ve pulled me away from work for much too long. i gotta go. by the way, i’m flat broke. would you mind?” For a second, you go back to your wallet, before realizing that your money doesn’t work here. “heh heh heh. geez lady, i didn’t expect you to fall for that one. grillby, put it on my tab.” He turns to leave, but you remember something.

“Hey, what’s your name?” You call out before he opens the door. He turns around with a huge grin on his face.  
“i knew i forgot something. the name’s sans. it was nice to meet you while you were conscious, by the way. see ya around.” He leaves, and you hear the door shut. You blush and look at your fries, as well as the meal covered in ketchup… he didn’t have a bite. And he got you your stuff, too… you can feel the eyes of everyone in the bar on you, but you refuse to look at them. Instead you draw the coat closer over yourself and close your eyes, sighing. ‘Sans’. You finally know the name of the man in the moon.

While you’re here, you decide to meet the other monsters in the bar. You ask Grillby how he is, and he says he’s a little chilly, so you laugh. You… you think he’s making a joke, but he doesn’t really have facial features, so you can’t tell. He leans on the counter and starts cleaning cups again, humming a little, which you take as a good sign.  
Grillby tells you that Sans is his best customer, and that if you stay long enough, he’ll probably be back. You smile and tell him that you’ll probably be back, too. His glasses shift and look as though he’s raising an eyebrow, and so you clarify that it’s because you’ll be staying at the inn… not because you, uh… want to see Sans again. It’s quiet for a moment.  
Grillby finishes cleaning the cup and stands up, asking you if you want anything to drink. Anything but water, that is. You look at his back shelf… a bunch of bottles, but you don’t know what’s in them. You ask him if he has any tea, and he says it’s coming right up. As he goes around back, you swing your feet a little and look around. A few monsters are still looking at you, but most of them aren’t. You look across at the blonde guy wearing sunglasses and give him a little wave, and he smiles. You’re… not quite sure if he’s a horse or a hamster, but you figure it’s rude to ask. You look left to the duck and fish, but both of their eyes are closed.  
Sure is quiet in here… ah, Grillby’s back. You realize again that you can’t pay him, but he says it’s on the house.

Grillby starts cleaning cups again, leaning in a little and lowering his voice. He asks why you were looking at Sans for so long if you didn’t want to see him again. You're affronted, but there’s a certain playfulness in his countenance and voice that calms you down. You tell him that it was an accident, and that you’re simply fascinated by monsters in general, not just Sans. Grillby laughs, then reasons that that’s why you were staring at him when you came in. You groan. Why was everyone so observant?

Grillby asks if you have any questions about monsters, and you think for a moment. Then you ask how he hasn’t burned anything. This seems to surprise him a little, so he thinks about it for a few moments… then finally says that it’s because his fire is orange, not white. This makes no sense to you, so he explains that white fire will burn anything it touches, but that blue fire will only hurt objects if they’re moving, orange fire will only hurt objects if they’re still, and green fire will heal, like his daughter. You think about that for a moment, and notice that he’s touching a lot of things that are still and therefore should be burned. He then adds that he’s fireproofed most things while he’s at it, and you smile.  
You then ask him if he really was chilly, and he laughs. Guess not.  
He asks if you have any other questions, so you ask him if monsters’ eyes can change color or… quantity. Grillby replies that he only knows of one, and you blush again. You can tell where this is going, so you go ahead and get to it, asking him why skeletons sweat, and if their bones have feeling, and if they’re dead humans, or just born as they are, whether or not they can die again, and if-- Grillby lays his hand on yours, a rag in between. He suggests that you should just ask Sans yourself.  
You don’t have a reply, so he stands and takes up the food with ketchup all over it, walking away to clean it up. You take a sip of your tea and it disappears, leaving you warm and hydrated. You eat your fries, too, leaving nothing on the counter but the whoopee cushion... you smile, blow it back up, and place it on Sans’ seat.

You grab your things, wave at Grillby, and walk outside again.


End file.
